Bakla
/ˈbæk.lə/noun
A Filipino term traditionally referring to an effeminate man or a person assigned male at birth who adopts feminine gender expression, sometimes used broadly for a gay man.
Did you know?Bakla is not simply equivalent to the modern English word “gay”: in Philippine cultures, bakla has historically described a distinctive gendered social identity involving femininity, sexuality, and performance.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Philippines
Philippine languages
bakla
“A term associated with feminine male behavior or gender nonconformity; its earliest precise form and origin are uncertain.”
16th–17th Century
Tagalog
bakla
“A word used in Tagalog for an effeminate man; Spanish-era records began documenting related Philippine gender categories.”
18th–19th Century
Philippine Spanish
bakla
“A locally used Philippine term, often described by colonial writers through the vocabulary of sodomy, effeminacy, or sexual inversion.”
20th Century
Tagalog/Filipino
bakla
“A common social term for an effeminate man or gay male, sometimes derogatory and sometimes reclaimed.”
Modern English
English
bakla
“An established cultural loanword used in scholarship and discussions of Filipino LGBTQ+ identities; its etymology remains debated rather than securely traced to a single older root.”
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